The biggest upset, in an otherwise quiet primary election on Tuesday, was the defeat of incumbent Lambertville Mayor David DelVecchio, who has been in office for 27 years, in the Democratic primary.

Julia Fahl, making her first bid for political office, defeated DelVecchio, 756 to 631, in an election that saw record turnout by city Democrats. Turnout was 75 percent.

In a town that is overwhelmingly Democratic, Fahl is a heavy favorite in November's general election to become Lambertville's first openly gay mayor.

Fahl, who has been a fundraiser for the Democratic party, said in a Facebook post that the primary victory is "the first step in our journey to make Lambertville an even better place to live, work, and raise a family."

"I thank Mayor DelVecchio for a well-fought campaign, and for his service, and look forward over the coming months to bringing our party and city back together to ensure success in November and beyond," Fahl wrote.

Longtime Lambertville Mayor David DelVecchio, who conducted the first same-sex marriage in New Jersey in October 2013, lost his bid for re-nomination in Tuesday's primary. Ironically, City Council member Beth Asaro, one of the women getting married, endorsed Julia Fahl in the primary. Fahl, if elected in November, would become the first openly gay mayor in Lambertville's history.(Photo: Rich Schultz, AP)

Going door-to-door, Fahl campaigned a platform for more open and transparent city government, better budget management, maintaining and investing in open space and revitalizing municipal boards and commissions.

The other surprise in Tuesday's primary was that Democrats in Somerset and Hunterdon counties preferred challenger Lisa McCormick to incumbent Robert Menendez in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Hunterdon Democrats preferred McCormick by a 4,525 to 3,002 margin while Somerset voters gave McCormick a narrower victory, 8,315 to 8,248.

Voters in Democrat-dominated Middlesex and Union counties gave Menendez a wider margin of victory. Statewide, Menendez, whose trial on federal corruption charges ended in a hung jury, won a narrower than expected victory over McCormick, who was an unknown challenger.

In other results, Rocky Hill resident Tom Malinowski easily won the Democratic nomination to face GOP Rep. Leonard Lance (R-District 7) in November. National Democrats have targeted Lance because in 2016, the district voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Buy Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Dozens of cars, fire engines and police vehicles joined in on the funeral procession of Gene De Cleene, a lifelong Clinton Town resident and longtime firefighter who died at 83 years old. Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

In contested municipal races, Clinton Township Council President Dan McTiernan lost his re-election bid for the Republican nomination in a three-way race for two seats to Thomas Kochanowski and Marc Strauss.

In Flemington, incumbents Marc Hain and Brooke Warden, strong advocates of the downtown revitalization proposal, were victorious in their effort for the Republican nomination over former Flemington-Raritan school board member Al Brewer. GOP Mayor Phil Geiner, campaigning for the incumbents, said that if either Hain or Warden lost, that could shift the current council split to against the revitalization proposal.

In Piscataway, the four candidates for council seats who had the endorsement of the Democratic organization - Frank Uhrin, Jim Bullard, Steve Cahn and Michelle Lombardi - defeated challengers who were bucking the Democratic party line.